After falling for five consecutive months, existing home sales in November beat expectations and moved higher from the previous month.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing home sales were 0.8% higher than in October, and the annual rate of 3.82 million was higher than economists' projection of 3.76 million. While the number represented an improvement over the prior month, sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops were still 7.3% lower than the prior year. 

"The latest weakness in existing home sales still reflects the buyer bidding process in most of October when mortgage rates were at a two-decade high before the actual closings in November," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "A marked turn can be expected as mortgage rates have plunged in recent weeks."

The existing home sale numbers are the latest in a string of data that shows improvement in the housing market, including a 15% jump in housing starts reported yesterday and improved home builder confidence earlier this week. Mortgage rates have fallen to around 7% recently, after reaching a two-decade-high of nearly 8% in October.